SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Coming off its fourth CCAA series victory, the first-place Cal State San Marcos baseball team (16-9, 15-5 CCAA) will head to Cal State East Bay (13-15, 5-11 CCAA) for a four-game series beginning on Thursday.
 
In an effort to get ahead of the weather set to hit the Bay Area this weekend, the series schedule has been altered. Thursday will consist of a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. and will be followed by single games on Friday at noon and Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• The Cougars won their fourth conference series of the season this past weekend at home as they won three out of four games against then-No. 19 Cal State Monterey Bay in a rain-altered series.
• CSUSM took the first game of the series by a score of 4-3 on a walk-off solo shot by Luke Reece before falling 7-2 in the second game.
• The Cougars retook the series lead in a rain-delayed 9-4 victory on Saturday before taking the series in a 14-7 decision on Sunday.
• This was CSUSM's first-ever series win against CSUMB and was the Cougars' first-ever series win over a ranked opponent since transitioning to Division II (2016-present).

 
COUGAR FACTS

• The Cougars received votes in this week's NCBWA Division II Top 25.
• CSUSM has a one-game lead over Cal State Monterey Bay atop the CCAA standings halfway through CCAA play.
• The Cougars moved from No. 6 to No. 4 in this week's NCBWA West Region poll.
• Garrett Teunissen's nine sacrifice bunts for the year rank second in Division II.
• Teunissen leads the CCAA with 12 stolen bases and has the third-best batting average at .420.
• Phoenix Sommay has been hit by a pitch a conference-leading 12 times this season, ranking 22nd in the nation.
• Sommay's .504 on-base percentage ranks third in the CCAA while he ranks fourth with 1.54 hits per game and has the conference's fifth-best batting average at .394.
• Luke Reece is averaging the most runs per game in the CCAA at 1.28 and has the third-most total runs at 32.
• In the conference, Reece is fourth in RBIs (30), fifth in home runs (7) and eighth in slugging percentage (.644).
• Roman Connolly has the conference's third-best ERA at 3.94 and is seventh in WHIP at 1.28.
• Connolly is issuing the second-fewest walks per nine innings in the CCAA at 1.35 while his 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks third.
• Preston Kelly leads the CCAA with four saves this season and has the fourth-most wins at four.
• CSUSM has been hit by 66 pitches this season, ranking ninth nationally and leading the CCAA.
• The Cougars have also turned the ninth-most double plays per game in Division II at 0.96.
• Laying down 25 sac bunts this season, CSUSM ranks ninth in the nation and first in the CCAA.
• Stealing 30 bags this season, the Cougars lead the conference.
• CSUSM has the second-best slugging percentage in the CCAA at .504 and ranks 26th nationally.
• The Cougars rank third in the CCAA in double plays (24), doubles per game (0.96), sac flies (17) and runs per game (8.4).
• Sommay will enter the weekend with a 20-game reached-base streak and a 16-game hitting streak.

ON THE ROAD IN HAYWARD

• The Pioneers are entering the weekend with back-to-back series losses against San Francisco State and Stanislaus State while having lost seven of their last eight games.
• This past weekend in Turlock, East Bay fell 15-2 in the series opener before grabbing its only win of the series at 5-2 in the second game. The Pioneers proceeded to fall 3-1 and 11-10 in the final two games of the series.
• The Pioneers are currently tied with Cal State Dominguez Hills for last place in the CCAA standings.
• CSUEB is 5-8 in home games this season.
• The Pioneers are turning the seventh most double plays in Division II at 27.
• East Bay's .289 team batting average and 6.57 team ERA both rank eighth in the conference.
• CSUEB has the worst on-base percentage in the league at .366 and is 10th in slugging at .412.
• Matthew O'Mahony and Luke Novitske lead East Bay with .365 and .364 batting averages, respectively.
• On the bump, Gabe Tanner has a team-best 4.21 ERA and 1.30 ERA among starters in a team-leading 47 innings of work while striking out 35.
• The Cougars and Pioneers split last season's series in San Marcos.
• CSUSM's only series win against CSUEB occurred at home in 2019.
• The Cougars have never won more than one game in a series when playing on the Pioneers' home field.
• CSUSM trails 9-13 in the all-time series and is 3-8 when playing in Hayward.

COUGAR OUTLOOK

• CSUSM will field a roster of 35 this season with nine returners and 26 newcomers.
• The Cougars' pitching staff is made up of 15 arms, including 11 right-handers and four southpaws.
• CSUSM will have 22 position players to choose from, including two two-way players.
• Of the Cougars' 35-man roster, all but seven are upperclassmen.
• Returners Luke Reece and Preston Kelly each earned All-CCAA honors last season as Reece was named to the second team while Kelly was an honorable mention.
• CSUSM was selected to finish ninth in the 2024 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia enters his second season in San Marcos after taking over the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• The Cougars ended the 2023 season with an overall record of 20-25 and finished ninth in CCAA play at 14-21.
• Garcia came to CSUSM from fellow CCAA member Chico State where he was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats.
• Joining Chico's staff as a student assistant in Fall 2012, Garcia helped the Wildcats notch 286 victories, seven postseason appearances, two CCAA Championships, one NCAA West Region Championship and one College World Series appearance in 10 years with the program.
• Serving as Chico's primary hitting and infield coach, Garcia coached the Wildcats' offense to a conference-record .344 team batting average while assisting the team to a 34-15 overall record in 2022 despite only returning seven players from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
• In 2017, Garcia helped Chico to another CCAA record with a win-loss total of 34-4 in conference play while also helping the team to an NCAA Division II-best .983 fielding percentage.
• Garcia is a graduate of Chico State and earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching. He later earned his master's degree in School and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Positive Coaching from the University of Missouri in 2017.